Colon & Rectal Surgery

Springfield Clinic's Colon & Rectal Surgery Department offers world-class care, right here at home. Our physicians and surgeons have been educated and trained at some of the finest medical institutions in the country, including University of Illinois-Chicago, Washington University in St. Louis and Temple University in Philadelphia, among others. Our patients can expect the area's finest care, delivered by a team of physicians with a national scope of training, techniques and experiences.

You can count on any one of Springfield Clinic's Colon & Rectal surgeons to provide excellent patient care in a collaborative team environment. Our staff is well trained, compassionate, and shares the same commitment to exceptional medical outcomes and superior patient care.

Services

A Colonoscopy is an outpatient procedure done while you are under sedation. A colonoscope is a flexible tube like instrument. The surgeon passes the colonoscope into the anus and progresses it through your rectum, sigmoid colon, descending colon, transverse colon, ascending colon and into your cecum which is the point where your colon stops and your small intestines starts. If polyps are identified, the surgeon will remove it at the time. There is no pain during or after a colonoscopy when a polyp is removed. The procedure takes about 30 minutes. The entire process from arrival at the facility to leaving the facility takes 2.5 to 3 hours.

Access: Setting up your screening colonoscopy

We provide easy access to screening colonoscopy consultation appointments. As a group we offer over 100 appointment slots per week dedicated primarily to getting your colonoscopy scheduled. Quite often we are able to get your colonoscopy scheduled within 2 weeks of this appointment.

Access: When you have symptoms

Patients with worrisome symptoms are give priority access into the schedule of one of our surgeons. A colonoscopy, if necessary, is scheduled on a priority basis.

Where is a colonscopy performed?

Most colonscopies are performed at Springfield Clinic Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) located at the main campus, 1025 S. 6th Street, East Building. However our surgeons also perform colonoscopies at Memorial Medical Center, St. Johns Hospital, as well at Taylorville Memorial Hospital, Abraham Lincoln Hospital and Decatur Memorial.

Our Colon and Rectal Surgeons are Fellowship trained and Board Certified in the surgical treatment of all colon and rectal cancers utilizing the most up to date approaches including Transanal Excision, Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery, Robotic and Laparoscopic approach. Our surgeons incorporate a multidisciplinary approach to treat colon and rectal cancer by utilizing radiation oncology, medical oncology, your PCP, cardiology, radiologist, nutritional support and access to support groups.

Our Colon and Rectal Surgeons attend the Tumor Board, which is a weekly multidisciplinary meeting with radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, other surgeons, pathologists and radiologists. Complicated cases are brought to this meeting for collaboration and treatment planning.

Every Monday morning our Colon and Rectal Surgeons have their own conference to discuss all current patients under their group care.

Our Colon and Rectal Surgeons are partnered with Southern Illinois University School of Medicine's Colon and Rectal Fellowship program. A fellowship is an elite and focused one year program that provides one surgeon advanced training in colon and rectal surgery.

Our surgeons treat a wide spectrum of diseases and conditions of the anus and rectum which include hemorrhoids, anal fissures anal fistulas, condyloma (anal warts), and anal cancers. Treatment can include surgical or nonsurgical approaches as well as dietary counseling.

Our Colon and Rectal surgeons are well versed at the treatment of acute and complicated diverticulitis. Conservative treatment (nonoperative) is often successful with intravenous or oral antibiotic therapy and dietary adjustment. If surgery is necessary, our surgeons are frequently able to provide a single stage surgery which means that a stoma is avoided, thereby avoiding surgery to reverse that stoma at a later date.

Our Colon and Rectal Surgeons offer consultation visits to discuss known or suspected genetic mutations that predispose individuals and their family's to colon cancer syndromes like Lynch Syndrome or Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP). Our surgeons and their nurses help identify at risk individuals by taking extensive personal and family history information. They will order and facilitate any genetic testing for the cancer syndrome that the Colon and Rectal Surgeon suspects.

Individuals who are chronically constipated (having a BM less than twice a week) experience chronic abdominal pain and bloating, and frequently miss work. Their quality of life suffers because so much of their focus revolves around when and how they will have their next bowel movement.

Individuals who experience fecal incontinence also have a significant loss to their quality of their life due to limitations of simple activities of daily living that most of us take for granted. A trip as simple as going to the grocery store can be wrought with anxiety due to the fear of having an episode of incontinence.

Our PFL is directed by our Physician Assistant, Sally Vespa, who collaborate with the colon and rectal surgeons on all patients. Sally has advanced training in Pelvic Floor Disorders. She can provide diagnostic testing with Manometry and Electromyography and develop a treatment plan for constipation and incontinence, utilizing dietary changes, neuromuscular retraining or refer you to one of the surgeons in the event surgery would be indicated. Irregardless of your stooling symptom, Sally will provide personal, private, and compassionate consultation, testing and treatment.

The Pelvic Floor Lab is located within the medical office of the Colon and Rectal Surgeon's office on the 4th floor at Springfield Clinic 1st.

Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis, occasionally require operative intervention. Our Colon and Rectal Surgeons work with the Gastroenterologist to diagnose and plan the best surgical procedure for the diseased colon or small bowel. Our surgeons also provide total abdominal proctocolectomy with the creation of a neorectum called a J pouch which avoids a permanent ileostomy.